The Sin of Counting

"One Year Bible" Old Testament History Passage
I Chronicles 19:1-21:30

Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.  I Chronicles 21:1 (NKJV)

The last half of David's life (after the adultery with Bathsheba) was characterized by difficulty.  The last major mis-step of David had to do with numbering Israel.  I have heard preachers and teachers use this passage to say that we should never count the number of people attending our services or participating in our ministries.  They say that David got into trouble for numbering the people, and we will get into trouble with God if we do it, too.

I think this is a misreading of Scripture.  Don't get me wrong.  "Counting" can get into carnal yearning for success or, even worse, betterment in competition with other churches.  I don't think God is pleased with such carnal evaluations.

It is a godly thing to desire to know how many people we are touching -- how many people have met the Lord -- how many people are being ministered to.  It is equivalent to knowing how many sheep are in your flock.  If you don't know how many, how do you know if some are missing -- perhaps getting picked off at the edge of the flock.

So, what was David's sin here?  The parallel passage in II Samuel 24:1 gives us some insight.  There is says David was moved to number Judah and Israel.  Remember, during David's day, all Israel was one nation.  It was only long after David was gone that Judah and Israel split apart.  It is likely that David already knew of growing dissent between these two factions that could ultimately erupt into civil war.  By numbering Israel, David was making an assessment about which side would win in a war.

This is equivalent to figuring out how many people are on the two sides of a church split.  We do this to start lining up how we can manipulate or survive such an eventuality.  This happens all the time in church politics.  AND GOD HATES IT.

God does not want His people to fight.  He wants them to love each other.  David's sin was in that he was sizing up a "church split."  God says, "Don't get into pitting brother against brother."  Seek ways to bring peace instead of figuring out how to survive the battle.  This is the heart of God.  This is also why God dealt so severely with David.  We are called to be peacemakers.